GLENDALE, Ariz. - Glendale firefighters from the E150 C shift went above and beyond on Monday when they delivered a baby while the mother was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
The firefighters said they received a call at 4:30 a.m. related to a pregnancy and delivery.
Fire engineer and paramedic Chris James said it's not a call they receive often, but they are trained for a wide range of medical situations including pregnancy and delivery.
"We try to make a decision if we're going to stay and deliver at the home if we think she's going to deliver," James said. "We felt we could make it to the hospital and it didn't work out that way. So we did deliver in the ambulance about two minutes before arriving to the hospital."
James said it was a great call and a successful birth that ended with the mother and son both healthy. He said it's never an ideal situation to give birth in an ambulance rather than in a controlled, hospital environment surrounded by loved ones, but the firefighters worked hard to be supportive.
"She was in the back of an ambulance with four EMTs and paramedics that she doesn't know and we take on that family role," James said. "I was coaching her on breathing and telling her, 'good job, congratulations,' the other guys did the delivery, took care of the baby, we counted fingers and toes for her and just tried to make it a special moment even though it's not ideal."
Firefighter and paramedic Scott Schwegler said calls like this are what makes his job worthwhile.
"It's exciting to be a part of something as special as this," Schwegler said. "Normally we don't get to see and participate in something that's this uplifting and it was really nice to be there for her and to be helpful and supportive with whatever she needed and the baby needed."